Presidential Climate Action Plan

PlaceMatters worked with the University of Colorado, Denver and other partners to help create the 2008 Presidential Climate Action Plan. By the time President Obama took office, the window of opportunity to prevent economic and environmental hardships and increasing global tensions due to climate change was one-third gone. The people of the United States, as well as other nations, were looking for an early indication of whether the President intended to lead the world’s largest energy-consuming and greenhouse-gas emitting nation on a responsible course of action.

To help the President launch effective Federal leadership on these issues, the University of Colorado and several partner organizations, including PlaceMatters, engaged the nation’s science, policy, business and civic leaders to produce a Presidential Climate Action Plan (PCAP). The plan contained a broad menu of policy and program recommendations for the President, rather than advocating a particular policy, and was announced early in 2008.

The Presidential Climate Action Plan had four parts: 1) goals and milestones for reducing U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; 2) actions the President could take under his executive authority during the first 100 days in office; 3) actions for the Administration's first 1,000 days in office; and 4) initiatives the President could include in his first budget and legislative package to Congress.

PlaceMatters collaborated with CU Denver and other project partners to create an online survey for PCAP participants.  The surveys will sought feedback on the recommendations of the President’s Council on Sustainability, convened in the 1990’s.  The survey and other online tools allowed for feedback and prioritization in advance of a PCAP conference at Wingspread in October of 2007, where participants put together the PCAP action items.  This work was the culmination of a two year project that included three summits involving energy and climate change experts.

Updates to the Presidential Climate Action Plan since 2008 have included Plan B: Near-Term Presidential Actions For Energy & Environmental Leadership and the 2011 report, Building the Obama Administration’s Climate Legacy.

Goals

  • Engage the best thinking of America’s leaders in government, science and civil society to identify actions that will empower all elements of society to meet the challenges of energy security and climate change;
  • Define achievable but effective greenhouse gas reduction goals and timeframes for the United States;
  • Create a sound portfolio of action options, including policies, programs, statutory and regulatory changes, and budget and staffing options for the 44th President and the 111th Congress;
  • Collaborate with many of the multiple efforts underway to improve the nation’s energy economy, GHG emissions profile and national security so that collectively, respective efforts will result in a more effective whole;
  • Set the stage for candidates running for public office in 2008 to take positions on specific proposals to address climate, energy and national security;
  • Focus the nation’s attention and catalyze concrete action on the most important issues of our time.

For more information

Contact Ken Snyder